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By 

Herbert H. Gowen, D.D. 



SONNETS FOR THE SUNDAYS 
OF THE CHURCH YEAR 



Sonnets for the Sundays 
of the Church Year 



By 
HERBERT H. GOWEN, D.D. 






T- 



MILWAUKEE 

THE YOUNG CHURCHMAN CO. 

1916 



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COPYRIGHT BY 

THE YOUNG CHURCHMAN CO., 
1916 



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NOV 18 1916 

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FOREWORD 

The writer is under no illusions as to the value 
of this little collection of Sonnets considered only as 
poetry. It has, however, been a pleasant occupation 
from time to time to condense the lessons of the Sun- 
days of the Church's year into sonnet form, and it is 
hoped there may be some who will find an equal 
pleasure in following out the line of thought suggested. 
It will be noticed that each sonnet is based upon the 
Gospel for the day. Sometimes fancy has been per- 
mitted to wander in by-paths, but it is hoped the 
thought is never so remote as to prevent the sonnet 
from stimulating meditation on the great truths to 
which the Christian Year bears witness. 

H. H. G. 



To the memory of the dear friends, still living or 
in Paradise, to whom, during thirty years of ministry, 
it has been my privilege, knowing only in part, to 
teach the lessons of the Church's Year. 

H. H. G. 

Advent, 1916. 



Sonnets for the Sunda})s of the Church Year 



FIRST SUNDAY IN ADVENT 

St. Matthew 21 : 5 
"Thy King cometh" 

Who comes with trumpet call to shake the earth, 
To usher in the sense of judgment near, 
To claim the homage of the circling year, 

And bring the reign of light and love to birth? 

Is it the princeling of a trampled line, 

Rebel 'gainst Rome, restoring David's throne? 

Nay, man, behold thy God, thy King divine, 

Thy Judge, thy Saviour — Hail Him as thine own! 

Rouse thee, my soul, to fear, as when the mount 
Shook with God's voice; bow'd In the dust, 
Amaz'd to find God dwells with dust, entrust 

Thy heart to Him, of light the primal fount. 

Then make the orb of grace thy year-long way. 

Until all shadows die in perfect day. 

Page One 



Sonnets for the Sunda})s of the Church Year 



SECOND SUNDAY IN ADVENT 

St. Luke 21 : 33 
"My words shall never pass away" 

"Words! Words!" exclaims the poet's prince* in scorn, — 
Agglutinated unrealities, 

The thought that speaks and in expression dies, 
Laboring for birth, yet moribund ere born! 

Far other is the faith divine which sees 

Beyond Creation's wreck, and hears the tale 
Majestic of the syllables prevail, 

Alive and potent thro' th' eternities. 

Whence comes it that the wondering earth hath heard. 
From One so meek, so passing proud a claim, 
Prouder than any poet's boast of fame? 

The Speaker — is He not Himself the Word? 

Oh, speak to us that we Thy voice may hear. 

When all things pass away, but Thou art near! 

* Hamlet 

Page Ttoo 



Sonnets for the Sunda})s of the Church Year 



THIRD SUNDAY IN ADVENT 

St. Matthew 11 : 7 
"What went ye out into the wilderness to see?" 

"Thy Kingdom come!" the faithful pray, and lo! 
Compelling gracious answer, through all lands, 
Their cry, "The Kingdom comes!" the tireless bands. 

The royal messengers, victorious go. 

Saints, soldiers, martyrs, priests, a noble line. 
All lowly servants of the King, from him 
Who woke the echoes of the desert grim. 

To those who watch to-day the true light shine! 

God send us men, strong men, sincere as strong, 
No courtiers soft, no reeds with breeze to sway. 
Who shall the mighty miracle display 

Of desert healed, peopled and sweet with song. 

So, 'mid the waste, made beauteous as the rose. 

The stately city of the Kingdom grows. 

Page Three 



Sonnets for the Sunday^s of the Church Year 



FOURTH SUNDAY IN ADVENT 

St. John 1 : 23 
"Make straight the way of the Lord" 

O pioneers sent forth before His face! 

Prepare the road, the royal road of heaven; 
The darksome valleys fill, the hills abase, 

The crooked paths nnake straight, the rough ways even. 
Shout to the captives sleeping in the dust, 

"Awake, shake off your chains, your march renew, 
The road is clear, the God in whom we trust 

Hath mark'd our tears and proves His promise true." 

And, wearied souls, to whom the way seems long. 
The road still rough, the King still far away, 

He toils beside you; let your hearts be strong, 
Even while ye labor, breaks the wondrous day. 

Greet then the way, the earnest of the end; 

Your welcome with the angel's message blend. 

Page Four 



Sonnets for the Sundays of the Church Year 



FIRST SUNDAY AFTER CHRISTMAS 

St. Matthew 1 : 24 
"Joseph being raised from sleep" 

Wake, Joseph, from thy sleep, from slumber rise! 
The dawn for which the world has waited long 
Is breaking; bursts the morning sky with song; 

Before our God descending darkness flies. 

Yet comes He not amid devouring flame. 

Not with the tempest's rage or earthquake shock, 
Not in the lightning flash or rending rock, 

But in the still, small voice of Bethlehem. 

Around the lowly cradle angels wait, 

Finger on lip, as in Heaven's holiest shrine: 
Splendors of God round all the stable shine, 

And all man's life and labor consecrate. 

Wake, world, from dreaming! Rise and cast away 

The works of darkness, children of the day! 

Page Five 



Sonnets for the Sunda}^s of the Church Year 



SECOND SUNDAY AFTER CHRISTMAS 

St. Luke 2 : 15 
"When the angels were gone into heaven" 

The Judgment trump is hush'd; the seers their strains 
Prophetic ceas'd; the heralds of the dawn 
Have sung from Heaven's vault "The Child is born, 

For whom the ages travail'd." What remains 

For common men who walk the earth and see 
No miracle around, no open heaven 
To-day, nor hope of one to-morrow given, 

Nor earthly weakness winning victory? 

What but the wonder, constant as the sky, 

Heaven open through earth's struggle and turmoil, 
God manifest in all the aeons' toil. 

Clear in the purpose of eternity! 

Sing then, thou earth, th' angelic song is thine; 

Thy cloven depths proclaim the Child divine. 

Page Six 



Sonnets for the Sundays of the Church Year 



FIRST SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY 

St. Luke 2 : 49 
"I must" 

Is then Omnipotence constrain'd? Must He 

Meet harsh innperatives from youth's bright days 
On to the Cross? Yea, perfect liberty 

Obeys Love's law and walks in narrow ways. 
More strong that love than weight of servile chains, 

More sweet that service than man's wayward will, 
More constant than the force which Heaven sustains, 

Freedom our purpos'd mission to fulfil. 

Brave heart of Youth divine! life's plan to meet, 
To find, in serving, freedom and a throne, 

To tread the duteous way and find it sweet, 
Though all men shun it and He walk alone. 

Such "must," 'tis true, to Calvary shall lead. 

But thence to bliss where love is free indeed. 



Page Seven 



Sonnets for the Sundays of the Church Year 



SECOND SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY 

St. John 2 : 9 
"The servants which drew the water knew" 

Incredulous the ruler of the feast! 

All Ignorant the guests who quaffed the wine! 
Only on those, the lowest and the least, 

This first Epiphany vouchsafed to shine. 
They knew because they served, serving they shared 

The place of Him, chief guest, yet servant chief; 
They saw the water blush; their hands prepar'd 

The draught miraculous beyond belief. 

O keep me, Lord, with those who serve and see, 
And not with those who sit unmov'd and blind; 

Be mine to know the gracious ministry 

Which none but serving souls can ever find. 

So then my nature poor Thou shalt enrich and bless. 

Transforming weakness into wine of holiness. 

Page Eight 



Sonnets for the Sundays of the Church Year 



THIRD SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY 

St. Matthew 8 : 3 
"I will ; be thou clean" 

"I will," without an "if"! Response divine! 

God's positive to man's conditional! 
Epiphany of purpose! bidding shine 

Upon a world of sin the light medicinal. 
Love, made incarnate among leprous souls, 

Utters large prophecy of purity, 
Gazing far on, where perfect power controls 

The issue in divine security. 

Awake, my heart, to know the stain within, 

Then run to fling thee on the proffer'd Will, 

To find that Christ will cleanse thee from thy sin, 

And God's pure purposes in thee fulfil! 

Clean then 1 come to dwell with saints below, 

And seek in holiness each day to grow. 

Paoe Nine 



Sonnets for the Sundays of the Church Year 



FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY 

St. Matthew 8 : 24 
"He was asleep" 

Asleep! His own unwatch'd! The thought appals! 

The all-seeing Sire even as the careless gods 
Who dream on high Olympus! The sparrow falls 

Unnoted then! Love fails! Creation nods! 
Not so: the body's sleep no barrier makes 

For Love divine, and at the needful hour, 
While sleeps the visible, the spirit wakes; 

Sounds o'er the storm-toss'd deep the voice of power. 

So life builds steps for faith to climb, to grow 

From sleep to absence; thence, made free from mesh 
Of matter, chain'd no longer to the flesh. 

In glad commune of spirit God to know. 

Lord, grant us grace to see all props withdrawn. 

Yet trust Thy constant love through dark to dawn. 

Page Ten 



Sonnets for the Sundays of the Church Year 



FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY 

St. Matthew 13 : 30 
"In the time of harvest" 

Surely the good shall perish with the ill, 

And all things into nothingness return! 
What boots it then to strive and struggle still 

With sinful growths, or ways of virtue learn? 
Yet, lo! what dread Epiphany is seen, 

When throngs of reaper angels hear the word 
To bind and burn th' uprooted tares, and glean 

The unforgotten harvest of the Lord! 

Faint not nor fear when virtue's scanty wheat 
Seems well-nigh strangled by the evil weed! 

Sleeps in each plant the judgment's fiery heat, 
The fruit is burn'd or garner'd from the seed. 

Oh, suffer not the foe the space to sow, 

Lest tares instead of wheat within thee grow. 

Page Eleven 



Sonnets for the Sunda'^s of the Church Year 



SIXTH SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY 

St. Matthew 24 : 27 
"The coming of the Son of Man" 

As broadens out the glory of the spring 

With presage of the summer's flowers and fruit, 
So gently dawns the day when Christ is King 

After the long dominion of the brute. 
Bear, lion, leopard die, surrendering 

The empire of the ages to the Son; 
The world-powers pass away in tendering 

Homage to Him through whom the fight is won. 

Tremble, my soul, before the judgment sharp. 
Yet sing for joy of the salvation nigh; 

Mourn not for Babylon whose viol and harp 
Are silent: lift thy patient eyes on high. 

The long, dark winter passes; heaven is near; 

The kingdom of the Son of Man is here. 

Page Tivelve 



Sonnets for the Sundays of the Church Year 



SEPTUAGESIMA 

St. Matthew 20 : 6 
"About the eleventh hour" 

O tragedy of loss! Life nearly o'er, 

Without the gladness of the joy of heaven; 
But one brief hour remaining to outpour 

The heart to Christ, to vanity else given. 
Yet, as to Dysmas,* may not words be said, 

To make one glorious hour the day prolong? 
Saw not the Florentlnef the rose bloom red 

On thorn which rudely frown'd the winter long? 

But why th' eleventh hour for us to whom, 

Even from the font, the Master's call comes clear? 

No need to stand all idle till the gloom 

Of fruitless evening compasseth with fear. 

O joy, to bear the burden and the heat 

Of all the days in service at His feet! 



* The penitent robber. 
t Dante. 



Page Thirteen 



Sonnets for the Sundays of the Church Year 



SEXAGESIMA 

St. Luke 8 : 15 
"With patience" 

Patience of God! toiling through aeons vast 

To make a world! Patience sublime 
Of Love redemptive, in the pagan past 

Waiting secure the fulness of the time! 
Patience of Jesus in the judgment-hall! 

Bearing with friends and foes, with Father's face 
Averted, wringing "Lama"? Most of all, 

The wondrous patience of the work of grace! 

Oh, covet not the brief Epiphany 

Which comes with shallow growths the sun shall burn. 
Embrace the process of eternity, 

And strive the patient plan of God to learn. 
"The good physician of the house of Holinesse"* 
Will heal our deepest wounds and perfect righteousness. 

* Faery Queen. 

Pa2e Fourteen 



Sonnets for the Sundays of the Church Year 



QUINQUAGESIMA 

St. Luke 18 : 36 
"He asked what it meant" 

What meant it? That the Christ goes on to die, 
'Mid press of men half-conscious of the spell 
Which held them at His feet? Oh, hard to tell 
His dearest found it, pondering silently! 
"Why, here's no need to doubt! Healing and sight! 
The joy of treading in the royal way! 
Quick, off with robes which hinder, hands which stay! 
He calls me! Lord, I follow — to the light." 

Hero of faith! less blind than we! how plain 

The lesson lies! What means th' insistent cry 
To-day? Nought else but Jesus passing by 

In love to heal sin's stain and sorrow's pain. 

Up, fling away what holds thee, break through all, 

Till Christ shall crown thee! Hear and heed the call. 

Page Fifteen 



Sonnets for the Sundays of the Church Year 



FIRST SUNDAY IN LENT 

St. Matthew 4 : 1 
"Into the wilderness" 

Out from the garden driv'n, naked and sham'd, 

Our first forefather, facing toil and pain, 
Fled, yet with Hope his comrade, who prociaim'd 

No rest till he the trial should sustain. 
See now the second Adam, braced to bear 

The test supreme, to spurn the lower choice. 
To feed with food celestial, to hear — 

The serpent crush'd at last — the Spirit's voice. 

Oh, may we take the salutary way. 

Content to see old Edens pass, to seek 

Our strength thro' trial strengthen'd day by day. 
No longer innocence untried and weak! 

Companion'd then by beasts no more — the foe 

Back-driv'n — with angel bands we onward go. 

Page Sixteen 



Sonnets for the Sundays of the Church Year 



SECOND SUNDAY IN LENT 

St. Matthew 15 : 23 
"He answered her not a word" 

The Word without a word! Silence which seems 

To carry insult, since it puts without 
The pale of grace, beyond the light which streams 

Even on things unclean! Doth God thus flout 
Our deepest need? And doth the Christ reveal 

A deity all silent to our pain. 
Silent to sin, to human woe and weal. 

Even with heedlessness and cold disdain? 

O blest Veronica! make answer, prove 

To our weak sight how little was denied, 

In strengthen'd faith, in quicken'd zeal of love, 
in heart's supreme desire all satisfied. 

For, momentarily deaf to one poor plea. 

He answer'd all, and crown'd the victory. 

Page Seventeen 



Sonnets for the Sundays of the Church Year 



THIRD SUNDAY IN LENT 

St. Luke 11 : 22 
"A stronger than he" 

Thrall to the evil strength which master'd me, 

Fetter'd with chains of habit ill, I lie: 
Sin deems his prey secure; for liberty 

In my ignoble plight I cease to sigh. 
But, lo, the Stronger with robes dyed in red, 

Coming from Edom, marching gloriously. 
My soul to waken from its loathsome bed, 

And bear away the spoil victoriously. 

O Stronger than the strong, be Thou my stay; 

Rouse me from dreams of peace in dungeon vile; 
So gain I strength from Thee my part to play. 

Safe from the strong man arm'd, his force and guile. 
Slave to the strong no longer am I found. 
But soldier of the Strongest, freed and crown'd. 

Page Eighteen 



Sonnets for the Sundays of the Church Year 



FOURTH SUNDAY IN LENT 

St. John 6 : 6 
"This He said to prove him" 

What moved the Master thus to draw aside 

The cautious Galilean with the test 
Which probes the prudence oft to doubt allied, 

And risks the worst fronn faith to find the best? 
What but th' assurance that the love which brought 

And kept th' apostle at His side, would turn 
To warmer trust the calculating thought, 

And Into faith, the doubt-devouring, burn? 

High honor of probation! confidence 

Which sounds my sea of weakness, builds secure 
A challenge to the foe, finds evidence 

Of witness which all trial shall endure. 
Oh, vindicate such trust in me; still prove. 
Triumphant in the issue of my love. 

Page Nineteen 



Sonnets for the Sundays of the Church Year 



FIFTH SUNDAY IN LENT 

St. John 8 : 56 
"Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day" 

He turn'd his back upon the darkening skies 

Of Babel, Ur and Elam, first to greet 

Above the gathered shadows at his feet 
The ray which waked the vision in his eyes. 
He walk'd amid the backward-streaming light 

Content, in Canaan nomad, denizen 

Of regions glory-haunted, citizen 
By faith, of the celestial city bright. 

Oh, if the patriarch in primeval shade 

Beheld the gladdening glory of the morn, 

Foresaw, through Calvary's travail, break the dawn. 

Stand we (who see that Passion's fruit), dismay'd? 

Oh, grant us faith to greet with humblest praise 

The broadening day. His day, the Day of Days. 

Page Twenty 



Sonnets for the Sunda})s of the Church Year 



SUNDAY NEXT BEFORE EASTER 

St. Matthew 27 : 21 
"Whether of the twain ?" 

Christ or Barabbas? Which? To take the sword 
And perish with the sword, or bear the Cross, 
Find liberty in service, gain in loss? 

Whether of these twain will ye for your lord? 

Choice of ill-omen! Choice which seal'd the fate 
Of wayward Jewry! With vociferous breath, 
The frenzied mob sends Jesus down to death, 

And claims the fierce Messiahship of hate. 

Happier than thee, Barabbas, he who died 

By Him who took thy place, and entered soon 
The new-won Kingdom! In his dying swoon 

He knew his patriot passion satisfied. 

Not hard, O Christ, should be our choice to-day, 

Who see Thee ride triumphant on Thy way. 

Page Ttoent^-one 



Sonnets for the Sundays of the Church Year 



EASTER DAY 

St. John 20 : 1 
"And seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre" 

Like Sisyphus the weary world, astrain, 

Strove to roll back what still again return'd 

To crush the heart all bleeding. Still Love yearn'd 

With Orpheus and Savitrl to attain. 

The stone mov'd not, except in dreams. Poor Love, 
Prison'd, lay faint, and Labor with her sigh'd 
For freedom, while close by lay Life, denied 

Her heavenward way and goal, a stricken dove. 

Oh, strength divine! such rock to roll away! 

Oh, holy light! such darkness to dispel! 
Oh, Life! oh, Love! oh. Labor, now display 

Your destiny immortal. All is well. 
To God from deepest hell the road runs clear! 
Arise, look up, march on and banish fear. 



Page Trvenly^-lTvo 



Sonnets for the Sundays of the Church Year 



FIRST SUNDAY AFTER EASTER 

St. John 20 : 19 
"The same day at even" 

How oft the rosy promise of the morn 

The evening disappoints! The morning ray 
Predicts the ardent glory of the day; 

The evening clouds strike chill the heart forlorn. 

Not so, since Jesus rose! The Orb of light 
Which greets the women early at the tomb, 
Nor at Emmaus sets when eve is come, 

Through bolted doors shines brighter still at night. 

That night no sunshine fades. To hearts all sore 
The Sun of Righteousness brings healing balm. 
No night is more, but only evening's calm 

With morning's courage now and evermore. 

Shine on, O Sun; whatever shades of night 

This world envelope! At eventide is light. 

Page Tnjenl^-ihree 



Sonnets for the Sundays of the Church Year 



SECOND SUNDAY AFTER EASTER 

St. John 10 : 14 
"I am the Good Shepherd" 

Good! yet He "putteth forth" His sheep: nay, more, 
"Driveth" them forth from out the happy fold, 
To perils new, from streams and pastures old. 

Yea, but, alas! the silly sheep ignore 

The pastures old exhausted, perils dread 
Compelling love more trustful, higher slope 
More green with verdure, and the baffled hope 

Of rest below, gage of peace perfected. 

So flesh gives place to spirit; Galilee 
To Olivet; communion by sight 
To fellowship of faith. The distant height 

We press to gain, goal of Eternity! 

Teach us to prize our "puttings forth" that we 

May rise to sit in heavenly place with Thee. 

Page Twenty-four 



Sonnets for the Sunda})s of the Church Year 



THIRD SUNDAY AFTER EASTER 

St. John 16 : 16 
"A little while and ye shall not see Me" 

The evening and the morning make the day, 
First, second, third, and on — to Sabbath blest 
Of full attainment and of perfect rest. 

The gathered gain of all the gradual way. 

Till that day dawn, how good each "little while"! 
The pause which halts, to stablish, eager feet, 
The consciousness of glory still to greet 

Ecstatic eyes, lest proud content beguile. 

So each attainment urges effort new, 

Hill beyond hill, new visions beckoning on 
Which darken visions hail'd and priz'd and gone. 

And "absence" makes the "presence" once we knew. 

Till, turn'd to absence oft by broadening light, 

That Presence grows into the Infinite. 

Page Twenty-five 



Sonnets for the Sundays of the Church Year 



FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER 

St. John 16 : 12 
"Ye cannot bear them now" 

O gentle Shepherd, tender for Thine own, 
Thou wilt not overdrive Thy feeble flock, 
Sparing the too-bright vision and the shock 

Of task too hard, till we are riper grown. 

Yet, oh, the hope thus usher'd into sight. 
In larger faculty, exhaustless zest. 
In good, prophetic ever of the best. 

Soaring beyond imagination's height. 

Not out of Thy despair that we can gain 

Thy fellowship of vision, not fronn cold content 
With imperfection, but from love most patient. 

Sure of the summit we at length attain. 

Oh, grant us day by day each word to hear 

Obedient, learning so the next to bear. 

Page Twenty-six 



Sonnets for the Sundays of the Church Year 



FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER 

St. John 16 : 23 
"Ask" 

The heaven hears the earth, the earth the fields, 
The fields the lab'rer: God enthron'd on high, 
Expectant waits to hear His children's cry, 

And, link'd with lowest, highest answer yields. 

What matter tho' the cry is of the dust? 

The prayer which lifts each want to Love divine 
Will grow to voice of spirit and refine 

The earthly dross away and perfect trust. 

So he who in the name of Jesus pleads 

(Whose joy supreme was in the Father's will) 
Must in that joy his whole desire fulfil, 

And find therein the sum of all his needs. 

Howe'er amiss. In asking persevere; 

Who asks in Jesus' name God's will makes clear. 



Page Tivcnf^-^cven 



Sonnets for the Sundays of the Church Year 



SUNDAY AFTER ASCENSION DAY 

St. John 15 : 27 
"Ye also shall bear witness" 

To witness! Be the living Christ to men 

Unable yet to lift the spiritual eye 

To where Christ reigns enthron'd above the sky, 
Th' incarnate life to incarnate again! 
To be the patient feet which trod the hills 

And vales of Galilee; to be the hands 

Which touch'd to health the body, loos'd sin's bands; 
To be the heart of love which bore our ills! 

Oh, awful honor! Yet if Thou bestow, 

As Thou hast said, the Presence and the Power; 
If from Thy throne Thou give the sevenfold dower 

Of Spirit that we like to Thee may grow; 

If, with the mission, Thou the grace wilt give, 

We shall not fear Thy witnesses to live. 

Page T TV en t^- eight 



Sonnets for the Sundays of the Church Year 



WHITSUNDAY 

St. John 14 : 26 
"The Comforter" 

The Son the Father for the Spirit prays. 

How great the Gift with such dread force invok'd! 

Saviour, accept our own petition yok'd 
With Thine; accept our grateful praise. 
Come, Spirit, source of order, life and light 

When Chaos travail'd with the birth of Tinne; 

Of prophet's vision, psalmist's sacred rhyme, 
Solomon's wisdom and of Samson's might. 

Come, be the Fire and all our chaff consume. 
The Wind to purge, the Solace of our woe; 
Come, be the Strength all ill to overthrow, 

Unction to cheer and Light our minds t' illume. 

O Paraclete, be near, our cause to plead; 

Within us, for us, ever intercede. 

Page Tiventy-nine 



Sonnets for the Sunday^s of the Church Year 



TRINITY SUNDAY 

St. John 3 : 10 
'Art thou a master of Israel and knowest not these things?" 

Oh, teacher wise, because so humble, wise 
Because sincere! to cast the fond conceits 
Of men aside, and thread the darken'd streets 

To seek the light which shone from Jesus' eyes. 

Wise — ^for these timid steps make firm the feet 
Which stand for justice when the Council rave 
For murder; yea, lead onward to the grave, 

The champion of the dead in dark defeat. 

Oh, Nicodemus, hast thou not the key 

For us, beset with doubts, whereby we go 
Humbly to Christ that He may sweetly show 

The meaning of each sacred mystery? 

The quest, begun with trembling in the night. 

Shall end with joy in Heaven's eternal light. 



Page Thirty 



Sonnets for the Sundays of the Church Year 



FIRST SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY 

St. Luke 16 : 25 
"Son, remember" 

Oh, now for Lethe's wave, to wash away 

Old memories of love proffer'd and spurn'd! 
Can He still torture thus with ghosts return'd 

To fill with horror all th' eternal day? 

Is there no refuge from the thunders deep 

Which bass our trespass? Nay, purgation's hill 
Must first be climbed, ere all the ancient ill 

Be quench'd in respite and old memories sleep. 

So may we all forget, since now is gone 

The selfish past, the lack of brotherhood — 
Lost years redeem'd, lost love at last made good. 

The chasm cross'd and Abram's bosom won! 

So let all memories fade, if stay but one. 

That even in hell they still did call me "Son"! 

Page Thirty)-one 



Sonnets for the Sundays of the Church Year 



SECOND SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY 

St. Luke 14 : 22 
"Yet there is room" 

Old Jabez, straiten'd from his birth-hour, cried: 
"Oh, that Thou would'st my boundaries enlarge!" 

Such prayer th' old world outpour'd and on the marge 
Of dying saw its yearning satisfied. 
Room in the Kingdom! Exiles far from home. 

Whom life hath cramp'd and crush'd; outcasts of fear; 

Strangers to Hope's bright hostel; hear, oh, hear 
The gracious summons: "Waifs and wanderers, come!" 

Thou, Lord, in room so large hast set our feet, 
The limits melt with living; and we grow 
In power to love, to see, to do, to know. 

Until Thy work in us is found complete. 

Oh, is not Heaven just room, for every man, 

Fill'd with God's fulness, to perfect His plan? 

Page Thirt^-iwo 



Sonnets for the Sundays of the Church Year 



THIRD SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY 

St. Luke 15 : 4 
"Until He find it" 

Long is the way, the night is dark, and far 
Astray the lost one. Yet, behold, the light 
That onward ever marches, fiercely bright, 

Of Love and Hope and Faith the triple star! 

Oh, patient heart of God, thus manifest 
In Love's persistence, end divinely sure; 
E'en to the desert's verge Thou wilt endure, 

And finding fold us trembling to Thy breast. 

Oh, weary Shepherd, Thou wilt satisfy 
Thy spirit's travail, in Creation's pangs 
Rejoice, wilt vindicate the Love that hangs 

On Calvary, the Spirit's strivings justify; 

Safe home at last each wandering lamb wilt bring. 

While all the heavenly hosts their welcome sing. 

Page Thirty- three 



Sonnets for the Sundays of the Church Year 



FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY 

St. Luke 6 : 38 
"Good measui"e" 

How God confounds with bounty! Laps us round 
With love till love o'erwhelms, and melts the ice 
Which holds the heart in bondage! Deems no price 

Too high for Love to pay for life unbound! 

So floods the liberal sun with lavish light 
Our planet, pouring on the void its rays; 
So fragrance fills the fields and woodland ways, 

And beauty's wealth outstrips too feeble sight. 

Lord, in our grudging souls such love awake 
To pour, as Mary pour'd, the precious nard, 
Nor spare one fragment of the costly shard, 

That all may offer'd be for Thy dear sake. 

Our narrow heart's capacity shall grow 

As more and more Thy boundless love we know. 

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FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY 

St. Luke 5 : 2 
"They were washing their nets" 

He walk'd among the workers: mark'd their work, 
And chose for labor lofty those whom lowly 
Employ found faithful: sure that service holy 

Was safe with those who small tasks would not shirk. 

Fishers of men or fishes, all have need 
To learn that casting nets Is not the end 
Of fisher's art; but rather those who mend 

And wash the nets drawn forth the best succeed. 

In nets let down for Thee uncleanness cure! 

Cleanse, Thou, our hands that they may not defile 
Thy sacred cause; oh, cleanse our lips from guile, 

And cleanse our hearts to serve with love more pure. 

Lord, grant that all our tools of service be 

Quite clean from stain of sin and worthy Thee! 

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SIXTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY 

St. Matthew 5 : 25 
"Whiles thou art in the way with him" 

How little while we have to walk together! 
Why walk as adversaries, on the road 
Where ye may joy to bear a brother's load 

And learn love's way in sad or sunny weather? 

Agree, and quickly, lest the unpaid debt 
Of brotherhood consign thee to the ceil 
Which rancor digs for self In deepest hell, 

And builds about with walls of vain regret. 

Oh, If ye would your gifts to God commend. 
Be quick to quench in peace your foolish ire. 
Gifts rise to God only in love's pure fire: 

With man your foe, how can ye call God friend? 

If through eternity ye would be free. 

While in your brother's way, agree, agree! 

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Sonnets for the Sundays of the Church Year 



SEVENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY 

St. Mark 8 : 3 
"Divers of them came from far" 

In the far country had I will'd to live, 

To satiate my soul with earthly bread 
(If not with food of swine). This world can give 

Enough to drown old memories, I said. 
Yet, lo! across the fearful wilderness 

Some voice to my unquiet heart did cry. 
And here the Master cares for my distress. 

Bidding me sit and hunger satisfy. 

So meets He pilgrims from the far-off lands, 

Feeding with food celestial. The common things 

Of life are consecrate, touch'd by His hands. 

With welcome for earth's wanderers Heaven rings. 

Now past is all the way's discouragement; 

Near to His love I rest for aye content. 

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EIGHTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY 

St. Matthew 7 : 16 
"Do men gather grapes of thorns?" 

Men do not gather grapes of thorns, 'tis true: 

The thorns yield thorns alone; but, oh, dear Lord, 
This miracle at Calvary we view, 

When from Thy brow we see the blood outpour'd. 
Adam, from Eden banish'd, garners thorns. 

His heritage of exile, toil and pain. 
What fruit from these? Perverse, perchance he mourns 

The past and craves the world's ill fruit again. 

Then, lo! the bare, stark Tree, with thorny crest, 
Become the Vine of Heaven, whence ruddy glow 

The grapes of God. And, lo! the rich wine press'd, 
Lord, from the bleeding punctures of Thy brow. 

From all earth's thorns distill'd, that wine may we 

New in Thy Father's Kingdom drink with Thee. 



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Sonnets for the Sundays of the Church Year 



NINTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY 

St. Luke 16 : 9 
"When ye fail" 

True! we must fail at last. This iiouse of clay 
Death shakes, and lo! we see our stewardship 
For good or evil judg'd. The strongest grip 

On life relaxes; soon we must away. 

Yet fail we not: the unquench'd life within 
May welcome find with what it lov'd below; 
For heavenly habitations meet may grow, 

And future friends through present service win. 

Oh, steward, wise divinely, lift your eyes 

Beyond this world's horizon; choose your friends, 
While life permits, where friendship never ends; 

Use time to purchase what beyond time lies. 

Then when death's summons comes, ye need not quail. 

For, passing hence in peace, ye shall not fail. 

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TENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY 

St. Luke 19 : 41 
"He beheld the city and wept over it" 

The tears of Jesus! Thrice the Saviour weeps. 
In human agony, the tears which rain 
In dari< Gethsemane; and tears of pain 

He weeps, for friends bereav'd where Lazarus sleeps. 

And now He weeps for the rebellious city 
Blind to its day of grace, when Mercy trod 
Its streets, bedewed with the tears of God, 

Which even in judgment speak of love and pity. 

We ask not respite from the grace of tears. 

The springs which overflow when heart meets heart; 
We would not play the Stoic's tearless part, 

Who o'er his soul the mask of marble wears. 

But, oh, when tear-drops gather, Christ, we pray, 

Stretch forth Thy hand to wipe them all away. 

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Sonnets for the Sundays of the Church Year 



ELEVENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY 

St. Luke IS : 11 
"Not as other men are" 

Compar'd with thee, how rich that publican, 

Standing far off, yet near God's very throne! 
His downcast eyes all Heaven's glories scan, 

Whilst thou, self-exii'd, standest all alone. 
Poor Pharisee, how all alone thou art. 

Who need'st no Saviour, need'st no brotherhood 
Of struggle, from thy fellows set apart, 

Content with thine own praise and thine own good! 

Oh, Son of Man, vouchsafe Thy children grace 
In fellowship to mourn our common sin. 

In fellowship to be forgiven, place 

Around one altar access sweet to win. 

So, near our brother, keep us at Thy side. 

And send us home rejoicing, justified. 

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TWELFTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY 

St. Mark 7 : 34 
"Ephphatha, that is, Be opened" 

So on mute Memnon's statue smote the sun, 

Making all vocal morn by morn the stone; 
So pierced the void, Creation's work begun, 

The Word, when, to remain no longer lone. 
The Spirit sigh'd o'er Chaos. Then awoke 

The dumb, dead world and sang divlnest praise. 
As now, upon Thy word, the silent spoke. 

In glad acclaim of all God's works and ways. 

Of this Thy solemn ritual of grace. 

Lord, grant us share. Poor, helpless, weak. 

All deaf and stammering, we seek Thy face; 
Open our ears to hear, our lips to speak. 

Then, with free voice, the listening world we'll tell: 
"Fear not, doubt not: He doeth all things well." 



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THIRTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY 

St. Luke 10 : 31 
"By chance" 

"By chance!" Nay, not by chance. Oh, rather say: 
"By gracious hap," for all that haps is seed 
Of happiness, incitement to the deed 
Which saves fronn death and fills with bliss the day. 
Did not His ministry the Master build 

On moments miscall'd chances, bring men in 
Daily from chance encounter to the Inn? 
And was not thus the perfect life fulfill'd? 

So may we view life's beaten track, a road 

Of quest for unknown neighbors in distress. 

For brave adventures lightening sorrow's load, 
And haps to help life's final happiness. 

Thus shall new blessing to the world be given, 
"The Way of Blood" become the Way to Heaven. 



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Sonnets for the Sundays of the Church Year 



FOURTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY 

St. Luke 17 : 16 
"He was a Samaritan" 

Samaria shames Jerusalem, the sons 

Of privilege more thankless than the scum 
Of alien lands. Easy, it seems, to come 

Asking for help in need; easily runs 

Moreover, faith, obedient to seize 

Instant the promis'd boon. Yet passing hard, 
For men long surfeited with favor, to regard 

The healing Love with love on grateful knees. 

Lord, grant us, with the ten, to know the stain 

Of mortal sin, foulest of leprosies; 

And, with the ten, grant us the faith that flies 
Obedient, that our flesh come clean again. 
But, with the stranger, grant, all this above, 
That thankful hearts repay Thy saving love. 

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FIFTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY 

St. Matthew 6 : 28 
"Consider the lilies, how they grow" 

Oh, tiny teachers, whom the Master brings 

(As once He set the children at His feet), 
Instruct our ignorance of heavenly things, 

Whisper to our dull ears your secret sweet. 
Within our petals, so your poets say. 

Lies hid of all life's mystery the key: 
Yet is our secret open as the day. 

We live by grace of faith's simplicity. 

We live in peace from all corroding care, 
The energy of Heaven our lives confess. 

Mighty to pierce the sod and seek the air, 
Mighty in rooted quiet to soothe and bless. 

We grow to perfect beauty from the dust. 

And shed abroad the fragrance of our trust. 

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SIXTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY 

St. Luke 7 : 15 
"He delivered him to his mother" 

Compassion, then, is godlike! Pity with power! 

Vainly the Buddha sends in quest of seed 
From home unvisited by death. The hour 

Of triumph dawns for love in direst need! 
What destiny awaits the favor'd one, 

Return'd from reading in death's secret lore? 
No other, mark we, than the widow's son 

Found in his mother's arms in days of yore. 

While youth's ambitious feet at human ties 
Fret and urge on their solitary way, 

The Christ renews the old felicities. 

Gives back old love in Heaven's eternal day. 

Oh, may we prize the bonds by Nature given, 

And find earth's joys restor'd complete in heaven! 



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Sonnets for the Sunday^s of the Church Year 



SEVENTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY 

St. Luke 14 : 10 
"In the lowest room" 

Willingly, Lord, I take the lower place, 

Yet not from abjectness, nor proud desire 
To win the quick reward, when of Thy grace 

Thou sayst, 'mid loud applause, "Son, go up higher." 
For, lo! earth's lowest seat is Heaven's highest: 

The meek and contrite heart Jehovah's throne. 
Who to th' Incarnate Love would climb the nighest. 

Must choose the Cross and leave man's praise alone. 

Oh, may we covet nought but on Thy breast. 
Nor, like Salome's sons, forget the cup. 

Then In Thy Kingdom wilt Thou give the best, 
At Heaven's high table with Thy saints to sup. 

Sharing Thy sacrifice we share Thy crown, 

And at the heavenly feast with Thee sit down. 

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Sonnets for the Sundays of the Church Year 



EIGHTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY 

St. Matthew 22 : 42 
"What think ye of Christ" 

So all day long they urg'd the fierce attack, 

Seeking with talk to trap, themselves entangled 
Deeper with every vain assault. And back 

The wisdom flash'd, confuting those who wrangled. 
Then He the question launch'd, like two-edg'd sword 

Sharp to the severance of joints and marrow, — 
"What think ye of the Christ?", His winged word, 

Clean to the centre like the well-aim'd arrow. 

Oh, Church, too oft enmesh'd In conflict vain. 
Questions but half sincere, let Him to-day 

From pulpit and from altar make so plain 

This pregnant word that all else fade away. 

And answer each, "What think I? Oh, my Lord, 

Saviour, true Man, true God, for aye ador'd!" 



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NINETEENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY 

St. Matthew 9 : 6 
"Go unto thine house" 

Prone was I carried forth, — my bed my grave, 

Whereon in daylong weakness still I lay, 
Helpless and useless. What had I to crave 

But death? What respite from my tortures, pray? 
Yet He spake words of comfort, bade me go, 

Carried no more, but carrying to the house. 
To prove forgiveness' fruit, life's use to show. 

Where erst a burden i to friends and spouse. 

Oh, Thou, who in the home long years didst spend, 
Who to the home, forgiven love to test. 

Trials and opportunities dost send. 

Make here our witness strongest, sweetest, best. 

The world which hears our preaching less shall prize 

That witness than the home which marks us rise. 



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Sonnets for the Sunda})s of the Church Year 



TWENTIETH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY 

St. Matthew 22 : 5 
"They made light of it" 

Ye careless ones, is this your sin, wlio cling 

To temporal tilings and scorn the heavenly feast? 
Nay, rebels He adjudges you, who fling 

Away life's greatest prize to claim the least. 
Oh, love, possessions, labor, — thrown away. 

Substance for shadow, birthright cheaply sold, 
Squander'd the crowning moment of the day, 

Life's lodestone lost which turneth all to gold. 

"Your lies, your lightness," thus the prophet spake, 
"Have made you heedless of the bridegroom's call." 
Be wise betimes, be earnest, warning take; 

Lest, lightly chosen, this heavy fate befall. 
When earth's poor, erring estimates all fail: 
"Weighed and found wanting in the eternal scale." 

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Sonnets for the Sundays of the Church Year 



TWENTY-FIRST SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY 

St. John 4 : 48 
"Except ye see signs and wonders" 

Purblind and carnal! ye would have your faith 

Gross ev'n to faith's negation — such a creed 
As finds Satanic sanction, pallid wraith 

Of trust, which love can never nurse nor feed! 
Agape for spectacle, ye crowd around 

The Christ who scorns your homage; yet, behold, 
This courtier, hurt by sorrow's cruel wound. 

Gets instant answer to his challenge bold. 

Doth He not read the heart and richly bless 
The love whose cry asks only quick relief? 

Which crave we most — the charlatan's success. 
Or Saviour's power to heal our mortal grief? 

Oh, age of doubt, what need of greater sign 

Than human nature quick with love divine? 

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Sonnets for the Sundays of the Church Year 



TWENTY-SECOND SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY 

St. Matthew 22 : 32 
"All that debt" 

Bankrupt and creditless I stand, aghast, 

With prison doors agape and prison walls 
Narrowing to clutch and crush. At last 

Awake, my awful, unpaid debt appals. 
The debt of praise for all life's ecstasy; 

The debt of likeness to my living Lord; 
The debt of reparation for the Tree; 

The debt of love for all the love outpour'd. 

Must now eternal darkness compass me? 

The dungeon roof obscure the Heaven above? 
Nay, will to be like Christ shall set me free. 

And Love will pay if room I make for love. 
Increase Thy life within me, Christ, I pray; 
So shall I all that debt in full repay. 

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TWENTY-THIRD SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY 

St. Matthew 22 :20 
"Whose is this . , . superscription?" 

The metal God hath furnish'd, fashion'd fair, 

Stamped with His likeness, as in hope to see 
His business further'd by thy life. Thy share — 

The superscription, He hath left to thee. 
The days and years are writing, as the tide 

Writes on the rocks their record. Men shall heed 
Thy stamp of service, use thee on the side 

Of God or Mammon, as the letters read. 

Oh, Master, keep Thy image ever bright. 

From all defacement free, and grant us grace 

The legend of our service so to write. 

In characters that men may love to trace. 

That in Eternity our chiefest joy 

May be to find our use in Thine employ. 

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TWENTY-FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY 

St. Matthew 9 : 24 

"Give place" 

Give place to Jesus, ye besieging crowd, 

Sensation-seeking under sorrow's dome! 
Give place to Jesus, minstrels wailing loud 

Your hollow clamors In the stricken home! 
Give place to Jesus, parents, let your grief 

Be hush'd in hope, in silence reverent! 
Give place, disciples, let your weak belief 

Here grow to faith firm, strong and confident. 

Oh, if for Thee we empty all the heart. 

And lay our sorrows at Thy blessed feet. 

Soon shall all noise and doubt and grief depart. 
And friends and parents find reunion sweet. 

For place for Jesus drives away all fear. 

And fills its room with all the heart holds dear. 



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Sonnets for the Sundays of the Church Year 



SUNDAY NEXT BEFORE ADVENT 

St. John 6 : 12 
"When they were filled" 

"For each a little," the Apostle said, 

"And that beyond our power!" Jesus gives 
And all are fill'd. Yet because man lives 
Not by bread only, gives He nnore than bread. 
Fulness of God! O gift undream'd, unwill'd! 
The year, its proffer'd fulness wasted, dies; 
O'er its lost store of grace a shadow lies 
Accusing: "Empty? No, but unfulfill'd." 

Oh, grant us hunger ere the last sands run, 
The fragments still remaining ours to prize. 
And with desire of fulness lift our eyes 

To greet anew the rising of the sun. 

If on Thy grace through all the year we feed 

At last, O Christ, we shall be filTd indeed. 



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